Skip to content
The Mechanics of Magic

The Mechanics of Magic

Game Design Writings by Students at Stanford taking 247G and 377G

  • Library
    • CS247G Community Game Design Resources
    • Game Design Resources
    • Graphic Design for Game Designers
    • Graphic Design Resources
    • Chapter 11 from Game Balance
  • Read Write Play
    • Hollow Knight: RWP 4 2023
    • Mystic Messenger: RWP 6 2023
    • Undertale: RWP 3 2023
    • What Remains of Edith Finch: RWP 5 2023
    • Catan: RWP1 2023
    • 80 Days: RWP 2 2023
  • 247G Syllabus
    • The Formal Elements of Game Design
    • Design for Play | Week One | Lecture A
    • Design for Play | Week One | Lecture B
    • Design for Play | Week Two | Lecture A
    • Design for Play | Week Two | Lecture B
    • Design for Play | Week Three | Lecture A
    • Design for Play | Week Three | Lecture B
    • Design For Play | Week Four | Section A
    • Design For Play | Week Four | Section B
    • Design for Play | Week Five | Class A
    • Design for Play | Week 5 | Class B
    • Design for Play | Week 6 | Class A (no class)
    • Design for Play | Week 6 | Class B
    • Design for Play | Week 7 | Class A
    • Design for Play | Week 7 | Class B
    • Design for Play | Week 8 | Class A
    • Design for Play | Week 8 | Lecture B
  • Serious Play Study Group Overview
    • Study Group Week by Week Breakdown
      • Formal Elements of Games
      • Final Reflection Essay
    • [Optional Material] What is fun?
    • Project 1: Those Who Play, Teach
      • READING Visual Design of Board Games
      • Pitch Your Teaching Game
      • Sketchnote: Playtesting Boardgames
      • Sketchnote: Erin Hoffman // Wind, Not Sand: Mapping Dynamic Emotion Across a Product Landscape
      • SketchNote: MDAO
      • Critical Play: Write up your game of FLUXX
      • [Optional Material] Playtesting
      • OPTIONAL Board Game Usability
    • P2: The Future We Deserve
      • Critical Play: A Mechanic and a Story to Tell
      • Interactive Fiction: Tiny Playable Prototype
      • Introducing Interactive Fiction
      • Map and Premise
      • Critical Play: Story AND Storytelling games
      • Essay or Sketchnote: Rise of the Video Game Zinesters
      • Sketchnote: Art of game design- Story
      • [Optional Material] Emergence and Progression
      • Essay or Sketchnote: Rise of the Video Game Zinesters
      • Project 2 Reflection Essay
      • Share what you Learned: Writing Excuses Podcast
      • Values at Play & P2 Peer Grading
    • P3: The Game of Unexpected Consequences
      • P3 Concept Doc
      • Playable prototype
      • Working With System Dynamics (mindmap the reading, apply it to your game)
      • Mapping Systems
      • Sketchnote/Response for Rules & Tutorials
      • Project 3 Check-in
      • Project 3 Reflection Essay
    • P4: Refine a game
      • Sketchnote/Response for Playtesting with Strangers
      • Read: Mechanic is the Magic
  • On Sketchnotes
  • Printing at Stanford

Month: May 2025

Critical Play: Play Like a Feminist – Daphne

May 30, 2025

I played Depression Quest, which is an interactive “choose-your-path” game about what it’s like to live with depression. The game was created by Zoe…

Critical Play: Play Like a Feminist – Dorian Gulley

May 30, 2025

Background I decided to play Stardew Valley, an open-ended country-life RPG created by Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone available on all platforms. The game centers around…

Critical Play: Play Like a Feminist – Depression Quest

May 30, 2025

Depression Quest is a 2013 interactive fiction game developed by Zoe Quinn, Patrick Lindsey, and Isaac Shankler initially for web browsers and later as…

Critical Play: Play Like a Feminist

May 30, 2025

For this week’s critical play, I went for Florence, which is a short narrative game developed by Mountains and published by Annapurna Interactive. I…

Critical Play: Play Like a Feminist – Jack Morris

May 30, 2025

Response: For this critical play, I played Queers in Love at the End of the World. This is an html, computer game that is…

Critical Play: Play Like a Feminist – Sarah Teaw

May 30, 2025

I played Depression Quest, which was created by Zoë Quinn, Patrick Lindsey, and Isaac Schankler. The platform of the game is available on any…

Frog Fractions – RWP

May 30, 2025

Reading the phrase “intertextual knowledge to subvert the player’s expectations” didn’t really mean much to me, until I played Frog Fractions. Not only does…

Play Like A Feminist

May 30, 2025

Game: Purrgatory (2021) Creator: Darvin “Niv” Heo Platform: itch.io / Steam (Windows, Mac) Target Audience: Fans of narrative games, visual novels, and LGBTQ+-inclusive storytelling…

Critical Play: Play Like a Feminist – Myan

May 30, 2025

For this critical play analysis, I played Monument Valley II by Ustwo on an iPhone (thank you Netflix mode for the free version). Monument Valley II is…

Critical Play – Think Like a Feminist

May 30, 2025

I played Queers in Love at the End of the World, a ten-second game by Anna Anthropy, hosted through itch.io. It seems to be…

Critical Play: Play Like a Feminist – Elliott

May 30, 2025

For this week’s critical play, I played Stardew Valley on the Nintendo Switch. Developed by Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone, Stardew Valley is a farming simulator…

Critical Play: Play Like a Feminist

May 30, 2025

The game I played this week was Doki Doki Literature Club, developed by Team Salvato available on macOS and PC (I played on my…

Protected: Critical Play: Feminist Games

May 30, 2025

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

Critical Play: Play Like a Feminist – Depression Quest – Mateus

May 29, 2025

In this critical play analysis, I will focus on Depression Quest, an interactive fiction game released in 2013, created by Zoë Quinn, with writing…

Joaquin Critical Play 8: Play Like a Feminist

May 29, 2025

Dys4ia, developed by Anna Anthropy, is a game developed for Mac and Windows platforms, that tells the autobiographical story of Anthropy’s journey on hormone…

Critical Play: Play Like a Feminist

May 29, 2025

Monument Valley 2 is a puzzle mobile game developed by ustwo games, now available on multiple platforms. This game continues the visual illusion puzzle…

Critical Play: Play Like a Feminist – Amelia Chen

May 29, 2025

The game I decided to play is One Night, Hot Springs. One Night, Hot Springs is a visual novel game developed by npckc. The…

Critical Play — Like a Feminist — Jack Ryan

May 29, 2025

Doki Doki Literature Club Target Game Audience: Anime fans, Visual-Novel fans, Horror Game fans Doki Doki Literature club is perhaps the most provocative game…

Critical Play: Play Like a Feminist

May 29, 2025

Stardew Valley is a farming and life simulation game made by Eric Barone. It’s available on PC, consoles, and mobile. The game is popular…

Critical Play: Play Like a Feminist – Monument Valley

May 29, 2025

Name of the Game: Monument Valley Creator:  ustwo Games Ltd. Target Audience: Players who like relaxing puzzle games Game Platform: iOS Playing Monument Valley…

Posts pagination

Previous 1 2 3 4 … 46 Next

Welcome to the Stanford HCI Game Design Blog.

Currently this blog holds two formal classes being taught by Christina Wodtke as well as Independent Study Work. In winter of 2022, cs377g was cancelled because of covid-19 uncertainty, and became a study group. You can follow along by looking at the SGSG syllabus and weekly break down.

CS 247G: Design for Play(SYMSYS 195G)

A project-based course that builds on the introduction to design in CS147 by focusing on advanced methods and tools for research, prototyping, and user interface design. Studio based format with intensive coaching and iteration to prepare students for tackling real world design problems. This course takes place entirely in studios; please plan on attending every studio to take this class. The focus of CS247g is an introduction to theory and practice of the design of games. We will make digital and paper games, do rapid iteration and run user research studies appropriate to game design. This class has multiple short projects, allowing us to cover a variety of genres, from narrative to pure strategy. Prerequisites: 147 or equivalent background.

CS 377G: Designing Serious Games

Over the last few years we have seen the rise of "serious games" to promote understanding of complex social and ecological challenges, and to create passion for solving them. This project-based course provides an introduction to game design principals while applying them to games that teach. Run as a hands-on studio class, students will design and prototype games for social change and civic engagement. We will learn the fundamentals of games design via lecture and extensive reading in order to make effective games to explore issues facing society today. The course culminates in an end-of- quarter open house to showcase our games. Prerequisite: CS147 or equivalent. 247G recommended, but not required.

SGSG: Serious Games Study Group

  • Library
    • CS247G Community Game Design Resources
    • Game Design Resources
    • Graphic Design for Game Designers
    • Graphic Design Resources
    • Chapter 11 from Game Balance
  • Read Write Play
    • Hollow Knight: RWP 4 2023
    • Mystic Messenger: RWP 6 2023
    • Undertale: RWP 3 2023
    • What Remains of Edith Finch: RWP 5 2023
    • Catan: RWP1 2023
    • 80 Days: RWP 2 2023
  • 247G Syllabus
    • The Formal Elements of Game Design
    • Design for Play | Week One | Lecture A
    • Design for Play | Week One | Lecture B
    • Design for Play | Week Two | Lecture A
    • Design for Play | Week Two | Lecture B
    • Design for Play | Week Three | Lecture A
    • Design for Play | Week Three | Lecture B
    • Design For Play | Week Four | Section A
    • Design For Play | Week Four | Section B
    • Design for Play | Week Five | Class A
    • Design for Play | Week 5 | Class B
    • Design for Play | Week 6 | Class A (no class)
    • Design for Play | Week 6 | Class B
    • Design for Play | Week 7 | Class A
    • Design for Play | Week 7 | Class B
    • Design for Play | Week 8 | Class A
    • Design for Play | Week 8 | Lecture B
  • Serious Play Study Group Overview
    • Study Group Week by Week Breakdown
      • Formal Elements of Games
      • Final Reflection Essay
    • [Optional Material] What is fun?
    • Project 1: Those Who Play, Teach
      • READING Visual Design of Board Games
      • Pitch Your Teaching Game
      • Sketchnote: Playtesting Boardgames
      • Sketchnote: Erin Hoffman // Wind, Not Sand: Mapping Dynamic Emotion Across a Product Landscape
      • SketchNote: MDAO
      • Critical Play: Write up your game of FLUXX
      • [Optional Material] Playtesting
      • OPTIONAL Board Game Usability
    • P2: The Future We Deserve
      • Critical Play: A Mechanic and a Story to Tell
      • Interactive Fiction: Tiny Playable Prototype
      • Introducing Interactive Fiction
      • Map and Premise
      • Critical Play: Story AND Storytelling games
      • Essay or Sketchnote: Rise of the Video Game Zinesters
      • Sketchnote: Art of game design- Story
      • [Optional Material] Emergence and Progression
      • Essay or Sketchnote: Rise of the Video Game Zinesters
      • Project 2 Reflection Essay
      • Share what you Learned: Writing Excuses Podcast
      • Values at Play & P2 Peer Grading
    • P3: The Game of Unexpected Consequences
      • P3 Concept Doc
      • Playable prototype
      • Working With System Dynamics (mindmap the reading, apply it to your game)
      • Mapping Systems
      • Sketchnote/Response for Rules & Tutorials
      • Project 3 Check-in
      • Project 3 Reflection Essay
    • P4: Refine a game
      • Sketchnote/Response for Playtesting with Strangers
      • Read: Mechanic is the Magic
  • On Sketchnotes
  • Printing at Stanford

Archives

  • August 2026
  • July 2026
  • June 2026
  • May 2026
  • April 2026
  • March 2026
  • December 2025
  • November 2025
  • October 2025
  • September 2025
  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • February 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • September 2020
  • February 2017

Recent Posts

  • Personal Reflection
  • Final Class Reflection
  • Sketchnote or Mindmap: Cursed Problems
  • Final Class Reflection from Alex
  • Final Review – snoopy

Recent Comments

  • Christina Wodtke on 247G Final Class Reflection
  • Christina Wodtke on Final Class Reflection – Joseph Gu
  • Christina Wodtke on Final Class Reflection
  • Christina Wodtke on Final Review – snoopy
  • Christina Wodtke on Final Class Reflection from Alex

Categories

  • P2: The Empathy Machine
  • Featured
  • Project One
  • milestone
  • P2: The Future We Deserve
  • mindmap
  • P1: Social Games
  • CS247G
  • Assignments
  • P1: those who play, teach
  • Lectures
  • P2: Games In Space
  • Critical Play
  • P3: The Game of Unexpected Consequences
  • Project Two
  • Project Four REFINE
  • P4: Refine a Game
  • Sketchnotes
  • Project Two: The Future We Deserve
  • From the Instructor
  • Project Three: The Game of Unexpected Consequences
  • ReadWritePlay
  • 377G: Serious Games
  • SGSG

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
Copyright The Mechanics of Magic. All rights reserved. | Theme by SuperbThemes